Last night I have done something extremely stupid. I went to this place in Brooklyn called Buffalo Cantina where I took what's called the Seppuku Challenge. This challenge is basically eat twelve of the hottest buffalo wings in the world in three minutes.

My friend even said "you're nuts". I told him "I want to try it". When it was time for the challenge I said my favorite prayer:"our Lord, we beseech thee. ETC, ETC , ETC . Amen" and then I dove right in. The wings weren't hot at first. Then the chilies really started to kick in. Everyone in the place was cheering "you can do it", "finish that plate", and my friend "it's just meat. There's no heat, just meat". Sure enough I completed the challenge and got my free shirt.

There was one problem though. I was feeling sick. My stomach was bubbling, burning and I felt like I had to take a giant crap. We left the place and my friend's parents were waiting for us in the car. They kept on asking me "are you OK?" and I kept saying "yeah, I'm fine". I was feeling a little sick but was fine. It gets better. They dropped me off at the subway, I went down to wait for the train and my stomach was really starting to boil. "I need to sit down. Where's the damn train?" I said to myself. My stomach started boiling even more and then-BLAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGHG right on the tracks. I felt a lot better after that. I got better when a fellow passenger gave me a few paper towels and hand lotion.

When I got home my stomach was still not fully settled. I tried Alka-Seltzer, yogurt, milk and an entire pint of Ben And Jerry's Everything but the Kitchen Sink ice cream. That helped a whole lot.

Will I do it again? Not in a million years. At least I got a nice shirt and I had my five minutes of fame.

Tags: buffalo cantina, buffalo wings, eating contest, spicy foods
Current Mood: nauseated

Not a review but something funny I saw while shopping a at my local Shop Rite (that's a supermarket, for those who don't know). In the frozen foods aisle I saw a sign that said there is a national shortage of Eggo waffles. How the hell is there a shortage of WAFFLES? Unless there is something like a World War 2 style food rationing going on there just is no excuse for a waffle shortage.

As for a review, there will be one up sometime in the far future (that is, when I have something I'd like to review and am not too lazy to write it).

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of* no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

That's right people. Today is November 5. And we all know what that means, right? Yup, time to read and review V for Vendetta.

Now, many of you know V for Vendetta from the movie. I'm one of those people who saw the movie first then  read the book. This review will focus only on the book by Alan Moore.

The story takes place in London in what Moore thought the nineties would be like if the government gained too much control (think 1984). We follow the exploits of Evey, a woman trying to find herself; V, a mysterious masked stranger/terrorist who wants nothing more than to bring England into anarchy because he feels that politicians have gained too much power and members of the government. It all ends in  bang, by the way.

Truthfully, I really enjoyed this book (better than the movie). Call me a sucker for political intrigue and stories about politicians getting their just desserts. Alan Moore also has a great way of grabbing you from the first page and keeping you wanting more. One of my favorite parts is the interlude where V is playing the piano and singing This Vicious cabaret while everyone is suffering. It's really twisted and is a great addition to the story.

The artwork (by David Lloyd) is a mixed bag. Some characters look good (V, Evey) some look way too cartoonish for this type of story. The backgrounds are OK although they do get too dark and is hard to see what's going on and can be very dull.  I guess this is what Lloyd was going for. I don't know. I guess it does work. the scenes with explosions look great, especially House of Paliament.

All in all, forget about the movie and read the book. Yes, it's $20 for comic but it's worth it. For those who are saying, "I won't be caught dead reading a comic" get your head out of your ass and read it. You won't be sorry.

Tags: graphic novels, reviews, v for vendetta, writing practice
Current Music: This Vicious Cabaret -Artist Unknown (From V for Vendetta

It's me again. No review, sorry. There will, however, be a review up by November 5th (take two guesses what). Anyway, I'm going to Salem for Halloween! This will be my first time there and I'll be staying the night in Boston. If anyone who reads this is from Boston (or Salem) give me some places to go at night and some great places to eat (besides Eagle's deli. I already know about that place). 

 

Tags: boston, checking in, holloween, salem

I'm feeling a little better now. I can now write full reviews (albeit short ones). Today It's a part two review of Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES. Why a part two? Because part one was about the journey, part two will be the answer (the "sequel" to the journey).

The answer takes place three moths after the journey. Your dorm is being shut down by the school and everyone is packing up and very upset about leaving. There are a few problems. 1. The dorm is stuck in a time loop where it is always March 31. 2. You can't leave your dorm because a mysterious force is keeping you in. 4.There is a desert of doors in your basement and 3. You have an intruder. That intruder is Aigis's sister (!) Metis. Now you must find a way to get rid of te desert of doors and the time loop.

Since this is the same game I won't get into the technical aspects of the game (see my journey mini review for my opinions ) except that the whole game is one big grind session. No social links, ni mini games, no school. Just battles and bosses. I wasn't too impressed by his because I like to do more in my RPGs than just battle all the time. That's just me.

Without spoiling anything I will say i wasn't impressed with the story (what little there was of it). The only thing I liked was the ending. It actually had closure. That is probably the only reason to play the answer.

So, regular Persona 3 or FES? I say FES because of all the extra crap it has. The answer is a disappointment but, like I said, it gives closure to the story.

Tags: reviews, shin megami tensei, video games, writing practice
Current Music: Music of the Night-Phantom of the Opera

Ever had one of those periods in your life where you feel like everything is moving in overdrive and you're stuck on first gear? That's me. The only thing keeping me going are my video games, Kurt Vonnegut, The Beatles, Korpiklaani and Johnny Cash. I only hope that things get better. Eh, I'm going out with my buds tomorrow so it's not all that bad. Reviews? You'll have to settle for mini reviews. 
 
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3: FES (game)  
This is only the second SMT game I've played (the first was Persona 2: Eternal Punishment which I sold like an idiot). After playing a total of 110 hours(!) I finally completed this game. Actually, I only completed what is called The Journey. You see, FES is like a "two disc special director's cut edition" of Persona 3. There's the main game (The Journey) and semi-sequel that takes place three weeks after the Journey called The Answer. All in all, it's a really great game that perfectly combines RPG elements with dating sim elements (plays a lot better than it sounds). The story is great (shadows, your school turning into a tower called Tarterus, shadows, personas), as the the anime style graphics. The only problems I have with this game are that the main character is a sue and some of the voice acting is horrible. Besides that it's a great game.

The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (movie)
I Finally got a chance to see this movie. Being a Beatles fan and all this was on my to watch list. I loved it. The animation was great, the songs fit perfectly with the scenes and the humor is awesome. Well worth it. 

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
The first Vonnegut book I read was Slaughterhouse-five whicj I thought was great. Cat's Cradle is the second Vonnegut book and I thought it wasen't as good as SF but pretty good nonetheless. I love his made up religion (Bokonoism). My favorite lines are: "Was it a bad idea to play god?" "There is no god." and "All religions tell lies."  I know many people who don't recommend Cat's Cradle as the first Vonnegut book to start with. They say to start with Breakfast of Champions(I'm starting that now) or Welcome to the Monkey House. I agree. Though, like I said, it's still a good book.




 

Tags: reviews, the beatles, video games, vonnegut, writing practice

The first time I heard the title Arsenic and Old Lace was from a poster in my college. apparently some students were performing the play at the college. I couldn't go because, at that time, I worked. About a year later I spoke to a stage actor/writer/editor friend of mine about it and he says, "See it. It's great." Now, five years later I saw the film adaptation of it. Was it worth it? In a way, yes.

The story is about a playwright/anti-marriage activist named Mortimer Brewster (Carey Grant) who just married (yes, married) his sweetheart Elaine ( Priscilla Lane). Before they set out to Niagara Falls Mortimer visits his two aunts and his brother who thinks he's Theodore Roosevelt (funnier than it sounds). After he finds a dead body in his aunts house they uncover a dark secret: they put up the Room For Rent sign so they can lure men who are lonely and kill them by giving them poisoned wine (twelve in all!). The best part? They're very nonchalant about the whole thing. Include a visit by his evil brother who's been away in an insane asylum, a surly cap driver, and ye olde "everyone's a playwright" and the whole shit house just goes up in smoke.

I didn't bother to read about the story before hand so I didn't know what to expect. after a few minutes it didn't matter because I was laughing the whole time (Mortimer telling Dr. Einstein {not THAT Einstein} a scene in a play he saw about a guy getting tied up was hilarious). The actor sdid a great job (hey, it's a 1940's movie, of course they'll be good. Hollywood had MUCH higher standards back then).I though that Mortimer's brother stole the whole damn show.

As I said, there are plenty of hilarious moments in the movie. The crazy brother shouting "CHAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGE!" as he goes up the steps to his room still gets me. As does the aunts thinking it's OK to kill a man because he's lonely still crack me up. Of course, there are some serious parts, but the comedy and tragedy go together perfectly. 

I'm not sure how much of the movie is like the play (I might find a copy in the library) but I do hope it's like this. I'm gald I actually found the film and, yes, I do agree that it's great.

Tags: arsenic and old lace, movie review, movies based off of plays, writing practice
Current Mood: calm

"As late as ever, Mr. Sanrock" is probably what you're thinking. Yes, I'm late. Sue the crap out of me. Anyway, I've yet another film review and this time it's a doozy (and a rock opera to boot). It's called Repo: a Genetic Opera (based on the play of the same name).  
 
The story of Repo is that of a not so distant future where there is an epidemic of organ failures. Millions die until a "savior" called GeneCo comes and gives out organ transplants... for a price. If you default on your payments GeneCo sends out The Repo to "reclaim GeneCo's Property". This always involve the death of the patient but, hey, murder's legal in the not so distant future. The main characters in this film are Rotti (Paul Sorvino), the owner and chairman of GeneCo (who's dieing of an incurable disease), his good-for-nothing kids (his daughter is played by Paris Hilton of all people) a seventeen-year-old named Shilo (Alexa Vega) and her dad ( Anthony Head) who's actually *gasp* The Repo Man!

What do I think of this film? I... I don't know what to think. This must have been the weirdest, craziest and downright darkest film I have ever seen. There's plenty of gore, the songs are quite, well, strange (Paris Hilton singing "grave robber/ grave robber" was a rare treat) and story was...I don't know. The whole film made me think a million and one things (and gave me an unneeded nightmare). 

The performances were actually pretty good...even Hilton (hey she was essentially playing herself: a rich, spoiled, untalented, slutty bitch)The good about Hilton is that she's not always on screen and doesn't have very many lines (thank god). Although I think Sorvino stole the whole damn show with his GREAT and ABSOLUTLY MARVELOUS singing (which makes me wonder why he's doing this kind of film in the first place). 

Should you see this film? If you have  a strong stomach and want to see something not quite from this world than by all means do. Normals, maybe. Agaiin, I don't know what to think about the film.   

Tags: films, musicals, repo: the genetic opera, reviews

As usual, I'm late. As I promised a review. This time it's a review of one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films: North By Northwest. Now, since my copy was a library copy that froze and skipped a lot I kinda got the basic premise down and what happened so if my review doesn't make sense blame the disc.

The story is about a Manhattan executive named Roger Thornhill who lives an ordinary life until he's kidnapped by a bunch of spies who think he's a government agent named George Kaplan. They get him drunk and try to kill him but he escapes and is arrested for drunk driving. Of course, the cops don't believe his story because, hey, he was drunk. On top of that, later on the movie he meets a UN ambassador named, oddly enough, George Kaplan, who gets killed in the UN building and Roger is blamed. Now he's on the run and trying to clear his name.

Despite skipping and freezing I really liked this film. It kept my interest from begging to end (except for the love story sub-plot). There was very little action but you need to remember that this film came out in 1959 and in those days story was important (I'm looking at you Michael Bay) which is why I like the older action movies than the newer ones (I think Sean Connery is the best and only true James Bond).

My only complaint (besides the sub-plot) was the ending was very abrupt. . Why Hitchcock decided to end this movie that way is beyond me. I thought there was more and then, poof, THE END. Don't get me wrong, Hitchcock is a great directer and all but that ending had me scrtching my head. Not even Psycho or The Birds ended like that.

All in all, it's a classic. If you have a chance just watch this movie and see how a good thriller is supposed to be made.


 

Tags: alfred hitchcock, classic films, review

No review today. I'm just checking in to say I'm still alive and to get a few thinks off my chest.

Now, firstly, I'm still unemployed. I've been looking though. I even created a profile on Linked In. So for it's OK but I didn't finish my profile. I hope I can get a job this way so my parents would shut up about me not working.

I STILL haven't started on my novel. I have the basic premise down (a short story I wrote for a class that I think should make a good enough novel) so that part is done. I just need to add more characters and flesh out the plot. If I can just sit my ass down with a pad and pen I can come up with a ton of ideas. Pray that that happens.

Review up next time. Promise.

Tags: careers, saturday night, unacceptable laziness
Current Mood: bored